A bombing of a nightclub used by US soldiers in Berlin in 1986, blamed on Libyan agents, proved a decisive moment. US President Ronald Reagan ordered air strikes against Tripoli and Benghazi in retaliation for the two soldiers and one civilian killed and the dozens of wounded, although there was no conclusive proof beyond intelligence “chatter” that Libya had ordered the attack. The US retaliation was intended to kill the “mad dog of the Middle East”, as Mr Reagan branded him, but although there was extensive damage and an unknown number of Libyan fatalities – including, it was claimed, Gaddafi’s adopted daughter – the colonel emerged unscathed.
